Nine Stones

HISTORY

Leonard Paul “Len” Evans (OBE, AO) was at the forefront of the early Australian wine industry’s drive for quality and international recognition. He was often referred to as “The Godfather of the Australian Wine Industry” and was Decanter Magazine’s “Man of the Year” in 1997. Nine Stones began as a collaboration between Len and his friend Denis Powers. Both men are of Celtic origin, and when the opportunity to create a wine brand based on this common ancestry presented itself, they named it “Nine Stones”. The Celts left many groups of standing stones, including Stonehenge. These standing stones, or Druids Circles, are believed to have been tribal meeting places. They are circular in aspect for amongst all the Celtic tribes the wheel is the symbol of the Sky God. Nine is the number of planets thus nine and its derivatives are “lucky” numbers. The stones were also thought to shimmer or dance in the heat at noon and hence “noon” or nine stones. The initial release wines were three wines of the Shiraz variety, chosen to display the characteristics of the region from which they emanate. Each is a powerful, fullyripened example of the variety After Len’s death in 2006, Powers continued the work of the Evans Wine Company before selling the brand to Bill Calabria in 2010. Calabria Family Wines is a dynamic family-owned company that was established in 1945 in the Riverina region. They are committed to producing outstanding premium wines and are proud to carry on Len Evans’ great tradition through the Nine Stones brand.